Zombie Planet (2004) (V)

User Rating:

2.6/10   

Director:

George Bonilla

Writer:

George Bonilla (writer)

Release Date:

19 October 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Plot Keywords:

Zombie | Post Apocalyptic | Undead | Independent Film

Cast

Frank Farhat	...	T.K. Kane
Rebecca Minton	...	Julie
Matt Shorr	...	Tom
Karl Gustav Lindstrom	...	Frank
Christopher Rose	...	Warren
Fran Rabe	...	Mary
Stacey T. Gillespie	...	Fred
Barry Roberts	...	Radio Dreg
Jon Shelton	...	Stilleto
Mark Matherne	...	Lugos
Jim Marshall	...	Ralph
John Tablazon	...	John (featured Dreg)
Rachel Marshall	...	Rae (featured Dreg)
Russell Barnett	...	Russ (featured Dreg)
Freddi Goforth	...	Jason

Runtime:

USA:119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:18

Filming Locations:

Lexington, Kentucky, USA

Company:

Piedmont Film Corp.

Trivia:

'Zombie Planet' and 'Zombie Planet II: Adam's Revenge' were originally shot as one film. Due to the epic length of the completed project, the decision was made to split it into two films.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Zombie Planet 2: Adam's Revenge (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Zombie Planet

Stop the planet, I want to get off!

Just when you think that you've seen the worst the zombie sub-genre can offer, along comes another budding Romero and his team of no-talent mates to prove you wrong.

I've suffered the Zombie Bloodbath trilogy, endured Death Valley: The Revenge of Bloody Bill, sat semi-comatose through The Zombie Diaries, and laughed hysterically during Zombie '90: Extreme Pestilence, and genuinely thought that amateur movie-making could sink no lower. However, having just watched Zombie Planet, a two hour long festering pile of drivel from writer/director George Bonilla, I think I have found the ultimate in awful zombie movies.

In this dreadfully amateurish effort, which is part Mad Max and part Dawn of the Dead (but ALL bad), Frank Farhat stars as T. K. Kane, a tough fighter who kicks zombie ass for a hobby, armed only with knives, a machete, some concussion grenades, and what he obviously perceives to be a really mean glare.

After a desperately unexciting opening sequence in which he takes on a horde of dodgy looking zombies, Kane teams up with a group of survivors who not only have to fend off attacks from the undead, but must also must placate a gang of vicious thugs who have taken control of the area (by searching for and handing over any valuables that they find).

Of course, Kane isn't the type of man to take orders from a bunch of z-grade post-apocalyptic bully boys, and he sets about teaching the bad guys a lesson (mostly by glowering at them in a threatening manner), only pausing to periodically rescue pals from zombies.

Featuring awful acting from almost everyone involved, a dreadful script, laughable effects, and shoddy production values, there is virtually nothing in this film to make it worth a watch. To be fair, I quite like the basic premise that the zombies are the unexpected result of a highly popular slimming drug that blocks cravings for carbohydrates (we learn this when one character conveniently explains the back-story to Kane, who strangely has no idea what has happened), but this is about the only vaguely interesting aspect of the whole production.

I have a certain amount of respect for anyone who manages to fund and make their own movie, but when the results are this poor, that respect is lost when they decide to make it available for public viewing. I would've kept this one under wraps if I had made it.